I need help finding a science fair project for my science fair in April. Can somebody please help me? Thanks!
I need an idea for a science fair project using the VEXPLORER. Someone please help me. I would appreciate knowing some sucessful ideas. Thanks!
Luke,
First - Always remember that SCIENCE is about determining a (previously unknown to you) RELATIONSHIP between two variables well enough to make successful PREDICTIONS after the experiment is over.
Science is not about building a gee whiz device and showing it off. Also, measuring some quantity, but not being able to make predictions is not a complete result. When I have judged Science Fairs I have found that far too many students completely fail to grasp this fundamental point.
With that advice in mind, one local student determined the relationship between battery voltage and motor speed for a Vex robot he built, and at the end of his experiment he knew how use battery voltage to determine how to adjust how long the robot should be driven (how much time) in order to have the robot travel a specific, chosen distance. This can be helpful when you try to use dead reckoning to consistently travel a specific path autonomously.
Because varying battery voltage is one of the largest sources of inconsistency in a Vex machine’s performance, studying its relationship to how a machine performs is a fertile territory for a scientist. If you think a while you should be able to come up with other relationships to study, either within the Vex machine, or about how it interacts with its environment. For example, by measuring current flow and voltage as the robot performs tasks, you can learn things like how much energy per foot various wheels/tires require when the robot is traveling over rough or smooth terrain, or when turning.
Blake
lukemills88,
The good news is “Yes”. The news I expect you to be somewhat less happy to hear is “That ‘somebody’ is you.”.
Less flippantly (and, I hope, more usefully): Rather than thinking of something to do, try to think of a problem that interests you. For example: Are you tired of having to get up before dawn to walk your dog? If so, can you build a robot to do it for you? How about taking out the garbage?
It is important to keep the purpose of a Science Fair in mind. In most Science Fairs I’ve seen (I’ve been judging them for ~15 years.), the student has a choice of doing a “science” project, in which one asks a question and does experimental research to find an answer, or an “engineering” project, in which one identifies a problem, then designs and builds a device to solve it. You’ve posted your request in a robotics forum, so that indicates you’re more interested in the “engineering” projects. (You should, however, check to make sure such projects are allowed in the Fair in which you’re participating.)
Another think to keep in mind is that, even for “engineering” projects, the judges are going to look for *original *work. Several years ago, there was a student in a fair I judged who had built a robot entirely out of stock parts, using designs provided by the manufacturer. The robot did perform impressively, but the student did *not *do well in the Fair, because he hadn’t done any original work. (I did, however, remark to another judge that I’d like to have that student’s supply of components with which to play. ;))
In contrast, I have seen students be very successful with projects that used stock components, but included identification of a real problem (finding people lost in avalanches, for example) and designing a building a robot that would address the problem. I certainly can’t insure that you’ll be judged by someone who judges the way I do, but I’d be much more favorably impressed by a robot that you design that can take out your garbage than I would be by one you built following someone else’s instructions that could perform neurosurgery.
Once you have a few ideas of problems and how you’d go about solving them, you’re welcome to bounce the ideas off me.
Good luck,
Eric
I have an idea using my VEXPLORER, do you think that it would be a good idea if I compared how area affected traction/force, I’d use the VEXPLORER to pull some amount of weight, then use the tank tread for the vexplorer then compare how well it pulls (how far, and fast) to the stock wheels and concluded how area affects force, tractiuon, etc. Do you think this is a good idea? My other idea was to errect a catapult like set-up to replace my VEXPLORER’ arm then see what the best angle is the best angle to throw a ball. Does the VEX site sell parts for me to build a catapult like set-up (springs, etc.) and which idea do you think is better? Thanks!
#3 Today, 01:59 PM
lukemills88
Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 5
Re: VEXPLORER Science Fair Project HELP!
I have an idea using my VEXPLORER, do you think that it would be a good idea if I compared how area affected traction/force, I’d use the VEXPLORER to pull some amount of weight, then use the tank tread for the vexplorer then compare how well it pulls (how far, and fast) to the stock wheels and concluded how area affects force, tractiuon, etc. Do you think this is a good idea? My other idea was to errect a catapult like set-up to replace my VEXPLORER’ arm then see what the best angle is the best angle to throw a ball. Does the VEX site sell parts for me to build a catapult like set-up (springs, etc.) and which idea do you think is better? Thanks!
Vex sells latex tubing, you could use that as a spring. I would personally use bungey-cords, mostly because I wouldn’t have to spend anything, but the tubing works too. I don’t think the traction experiment is a good idea, because you are dealing with two different materials: soft rubber vs. plastic. That variable messes the whole thing up, as the traction would deal more with the material than the surface area. Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe you can calculate the optimum angle for your catapult using math. Then again, the Mythbusters do a ton of myths you could do with math. So… maybe, you could build a robot that would help physically impaired people. I’m not sure what criteria the judges are using, but that would be a really cool project. Good luck!
I agree with what Octane is saying but let me say it a bit differently.
When you are using scientific experiments to determine relationships that you don’t know yet, you want to change only one variable (the independent one) and measure its effect on something. The “something” is typically only one other variable (the dependent one). Octane is right about your initial description of #1 - It changes more than one idependent variable. You could change your approach, or pick another topic.
In #2, if you don’t know the existing mathematical results for predicting the correct angle, then you can attempt to discover the relationship between angle and distance empricially (by experimenting), and then later compare your results to what the simple math says.
Distance will be affected by many things in addition to the object’s initial trajectory. Air resistance has a very important effect that is typically ignored in introductory physics classes. You could perhaps look up the answer simple math/models predict and then see how the air resistance of various shapes (keep mass constant, but change shape) or the resistance of a single shape (keep shape constant but change mass) makes the actual results differ from the predicted result.
If you can find or make a large enough vacuum/hyperbaric chamber, launching an object through varying air densities (high pressure, normal pressure, near vacuum) would be a really fun/cool experiment that would let you explore the relationships discussed above.
Blake
Were could, or how could I make a vacum?hyperbaric chamber?
I have two suggestions.
- Google is your friend.
Finding a chamber large enough to hold a small launcher, and large enough for you to perform some launches (you could measure where the object hits a wall, instead of where it lands?), and available for the time you would need; would be an incredible stroke of luck.
Making one is probably possible, but not likely to be a quick project. I’m guessing that pulling a decent vacuum will be easier than raising the pressure, but I could be wrong.
Do some Googling and see what turns up. Maybe the Mythbusters have an example you can modify?
- Spellcheck is also your friend.
Blake
You can always do some comparisons of lubricants
Make a standard drivetrain and apply different types of lubricants to it
(Switch out the gears or wash off the lubricants between each trial)
You can also try some confirmation experiments like: “Is angular momentum really conserved?”
More on the electronics side, you can test various resistors and examine the effects on the DC motor rotation or LED brightness
What do I google for?
Come on… You can figure that part out - Look for words like Vacuum, or phrases like “Pressure chamber” and then just see where the hits you get back take you. Pull words and phrases out of the initial hits and use them to look for more possibilities.
Also, where you live will affect what you can find close to your home. If you are in the Rockies you can change your ambient air density by moving up and down a mountain. If you are near the ocean, you might find high pressure air through a dive shop. If you are near an airport you might find a pilot willing to take you up into thin air. If you are near the right sort of industrial or university locations…
Blake